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America brings relief to college students

“Are we a nation that educates the world’s best and brightest in our universities, only to send them home to create businesses in countries that compete against us?” said President Barack Obama.

Among millions of immigrants to America, international students hoping to attend school in the US may now be able to apply for more affordable tuition and even aids in some states as well as to stay longer after their graduation. Specifically, students in STEM can remain for 29 months after finishing school, others for 12 months. Obama’s new action also includes the extension of the federal OPT (Optional Practical Training) program that allows foreign students to work in the US (off campus) during school or afterward. The President plans to make the work visas more accessible to foreign students.

Marlene Johnson, executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, said the immigration action was necessary for those who want to contribute to the country’s economy.

“Immigration, at its core, is about people and their hopes for better lives for themselves and their families. This is just as true for immigrants who come to the United States to work in the fields harvesting crops as it is for immigrants working in the laboratories at our most prestigious universities,” Johnson said in a statement. “As we continue to lose our market share of globally mobile students and scholars to countries with friendlier immigration policies, we particularly applaud the president for recognizing the importance of having avenues for students to stay and work here.”